Conference Presentation, Keynote
Nature as Technology
- Leverages 3.8 billion years of natural evolution to extend the shelf life of perishable items like avocados and strawberries, aiming to match the longevity of citrus.
- Anticipates specific shelf-life extensions for caviar lime from 7 days to 25 days to achieve commercial viability in global grocery stores.
- Predicts that solving perishability could eliminate trillions of dollars in annual food losses and enable remote Kenyan smallholder farmers and Peruvian production regions to access new markets, including Asia.
- Expects the technology to enable caviar lime to be pickable in grocery stores shortly after reaching commercial viability.
- Addresses a projected 70% increase in global food demand and a consequent need for 55% more fresh water over the next 30 years by utilizing bio-based barrier technology derived from uneaten plant parts.
- Implements "cutin" barrier technology, an evolutionarily conserved mechanism across species, to resist desiccative stress and allow plants to interact with natural systems without desiccation or oxidation.
- Establishes a circular system where fuel sources are collected, returned to their original state, and reused to mirror natural cycles.
- Positions the current era as a pivotal point where integrating with natural systems through small changes offers dramatic opportunities to address future population growth and resource constraints.